In a report titled “Privacy and Location Data: Global Consumer Study” HERE Technologies note that only 20 percent of consumers believe they have full control over their personal location data. This is based on a survey of over 8,000 people across eight countries.
This feeling of a lack of control perhaps because around 44 percent of those surveyed were found to be sharing location data with apps and service providers unintentionally. Moreover, 76 percent of those polled were left feeling vulnerable about sharing their location data.
Other key findings from the study were:
There is a level of mistrust, concern and uncertainty in relation to how companies and service providers are collecting and using location data are revealed in survey of 8,000 people across eight countries.
Two in five people discovered, through completing the survey, that they share location data with more apps than they thought.
Only one of those polled five feel they have full control over their location data.
Most consumers would consider using an AI bot to manage their data privacy in future.
The people surveyed placed their concerns firmly at the door of app developers and data collectors, with very few trusting that services collecting their location data are capable of handling their data appropriately. Nevertheless, despite expressing considerable concerns about sharing their location data, most people do not actively engage with their location data settings on their devices.
The need for increased transparency and control
Conversely the study showed that increased transparency and control over how location data is used and collected would increase consumer trust and make people more willing to share their data. This was at its highest if a ‘privacy service’, to manage privacy settings, was in place. This included data management like an artificial intelligence bot.
Under these circumstances some of those polled see advantages in terms of sharing location data, such as to improve safety, especially when autonomous cars become more prevalent. In another scenario people states they would share their data in order to enable a drone to find a missing person.
According to Dr. Peter Kürpick, who is the Chief Platform Officer at HERE Technologies, who told Digital Journal: “People share location data with app providers because of the many benefits, whether it’s food delivery, hailing a ride, or getting the most out of social media. But, for many, it can be a trade with which they’re uneasy.”
The technologist adds: “While the lack of trust is problematic today, we believe that there could be greater challenges down the road if privacy practices continue to be dominated by a click-to-consent approach.”
The way forwards, according to Dr. Kürpick, is a collaborative approach across different industry segments to develop the right solutions for data privacy.
